Suction cup dispensing spout



Dec. 30, 1952 B. F. GASSAWAY SUCTION CUP DISPENSING SPOUT Filed Feb. 14,1951 INVENTOR. Benjamin FGassaWcLy Patented Dec. 30, 1952 SUCTION CUPDISPENSING SPOUT Benjamin F. Gassaway, Milwaukie, reg., assignor ofone-half to George J. Elsa-sser, Portland, Oreg.

Application February 14, 1951, SerialNo. 210,949

9 Claims.

This invention relates to an elastic dispensing spout for use with ashaving cream or toothpaste tube, a glue or mucilage bottle, an ointmentjar, or with any other container designed alternately to dispense aportion of the contents and to seal the remainder against contaminationor deterioration.

One object of my invention is to provide an elastic dispensing spoutwhich is operable with the fingers of one hand between an opendispensing position and a closed sealing. position thereby leaving theother hand free to hold a toothbrush, shaving brush, bandage, piece ofpaper to be glued, or the like.

It. is conventional in the dispensing art, although not alwayseconomically practical, to pro vide various types of slitted resilientdiaphragms or nipples for use with glue, mucilage, ointment, shavingcream, and toothpaste containers. A great number of these devices, whilesatisfactory when employed with a dispensable material of one type, fallshort of practicality when employed with another type of material.Accordingly, I have. directed my inventive efforts toward the provisionof an elastic dispensing spout which is practical in use with a widevariety of materials of the fluid, semi-fluid, and plastic variety.Further, I seek to provide a spout of this type which is inexpensive toconstruct, thereby to make such diverse uses economically practical.

The elongated rubber dispensing spout utilized with the well-knownmucilage bottle will serve to illustrate the conventional device uponwhich Ipropose to improve. This dispenser consists of an elongatedrubber nipple secured to the neck of a glass jar and having a smalllateral slit in the terminal end thereof. To dispense the mucilage, thebottle is inverted and the nipple is squeezed between the. fingers orpressed against a flat object to force the sidesof the slit apart. Whenthe opening pressure is released, the slit springs shut due to itsnatural elasticity. This elastic closure, together with the small amountof mucilage remaining on the walls of the slits, efiiciently seals thecontents against contamination. and spoilage. Variations on thisconventional construction run the gamut from Spring. pressed and slidingbody spouts to tortuous or restricted path and complex spoutconstructions I have discovered that each of, these conventionaldispensers possesses an inherent disadvantage of one sort or anotherrendering them less useful with some dispensable materials than withothers. For example, theslit-typeconstruction above described, whilesatisfactory with mucilage, cannot and does not hermetically seal thecontainer when utilized to dispense a nonadhesive such as shaving lotionor the like. Accordingly, this type dispenser is unsatisfactory whenutilized in conjunction with a great many bottled and tube-filledmaterials since it fails to protect them against the deleterious effectsof the air, against contamination or evaporation, or against otherdeterioration. Only an efiicient, airtight seal provides the protectionwhich I deem essential.

In alleviation of the above listed disadvantages, one object of myinvention is to provide, in combination with an elastic, slit-typedispensing spout, a means hermetically and positively for sealing acontainer against contamination and deterioration.

More specifically, one of my inventive objects includes the provision ofan elastic envelope for attachment to the neck of any of a wide varietyof dispensing containers. Within the envelope, a pair of mated suctioncups are arranged in faceto-face relationship. These suction cups, incombination with an entrance and an exit opening through the oppositeends of the envelope, bound a dispensing passage which normally isbiased open to permit discharge of the contents of the containerlongitudinally between the suction cups. When the spout is to be sealed,the suction cups are collapsed with a compressive force which overcomesthe elastic bias. This collapse forces the air and other material frombetween the suction cup faces to close the passage. The vacuum-typesuction thus created hermetically will, seal the passage until a secondcompressive force, at. right angles to the original force, positivelyand consciously is applied to the spout.

Within the scope of my inventive concept, additional. utility is foundfor the suction cup dispensing spout in conjunction with containersfilled with a liquid or a gas under pressure or in conjunction with theconventional collapsible tube. container. The structure upon which thisadded utility is bottomed includes a pair of mated recesses formedbetween the marginal edges of the suction cups and the elastic envelopeadjacent the entrance opening from the container neck. These recessesact as pressure pockets when the dispensing passage is closed wherebyany liquid or gaseous pressure conveyed to the entrance tends to forcethe suction cups more tightly together. Thus, the force holding thepassage sealed is made directly proportional to the pressure within thecontainer. The greater the pressure, the more tightly the passage isclosed.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will be set forthin the following detailed description taken with reference to theaccompanying drawing, wherein:

Figs. 1, 2, and 3 are related side, end, and top views, respectively,each partially broken away, showing the appearance of my suction cupdispensing spout in the closed or seal position; the arrows indicatingthe direction of movement to open the spout and the arrows C indicatingthe direction of movement to seal the spout;

Figs. 4 and are related top and end views, respectively, indicating theappearance of the sucmembers 2 and 3 to bound a pair of mated recessesI3 and I4, respectively. These recesses I3 and I6 extend laterallybehind the bottom margins H to define, together with the wall members 2and 3, a pair of mated pressure pockets. Thus, as Fig. 2 will indicate,any gaseous or liquid pressure which accumulates in the neck of thecontainer 5 while the dispensing spout is closed, will press against therecesses I3 and I4 to force the suction cups i and 8 more tightlyclosed. This compressive closure force, it will tion cup dispensingspout in the open or dispensin position; and

Fig. 6 is a side view, partially in section, of a second species of myinvention wherein the suction cups are formed elliptical with the majoraxes thereof vertical instead of horizontal.

Referring to the drawings by reference numerals, I have shown myinventive embodiment in conjunction with an elongated elastic envelopeI. Preferably, this envelope is formed from a natural or syntheticrubber or an elastic plastic material so the spout may be collapsedrepeatedly, yet when a conscious force releases the holding or suctionaction, it will return to the natural open position.

The bulk of the elastic envelope I comprises a pair of spaced wallmembers 2 and 3 which terminate in a tubular skirt or engaging means 4for gripping the neck of a container 5. If the container 5 is a glassbottle or jar, the tubular skirt portion i is best made with relativelythin walls so as to stretch over and grip tightly the container neck(see Figs. 1, 2, and 5). On the other hand, if the container is acollapsible tube such as is shown at I5 in Fig. 6, the tubular skirt 4may have thick or heavy walls with threads 6 tapped therein to conformto the threads on the container neck.

Each of the envelope Wall members 2 and 3 carry one-half of a pair ofmated suction cups or concave disk elements 7 and 8, respectively. Thesesuction cups I and 8 are carried in continguous mated or f-ace-to-facerelationship so the peripheral margins thereof coincide. In addition, itis best if the lateral peripheral margins 90f thesuction cups aredisposed in abutment and the end peripheral margins I9 and II,respectively, normally are spaced one from another. The normal spacingof the end margins 10 and II is best shown in Fig. 5 wherein the spoutdefines an open dispensing position. Within the scope of my inventiveconcept, it is immaterial whether this normal spacing of the end marginsis due to the inherent elasticity of the wall members 2 and 3 or is dueto the natural relaxed form of the suction cups I and 8.

As shown in Fig. 4, the top of the elastic envelope I is pierced with aslit or exit aperture I2. This aperture, it will be noted, liesintermediate the top peripheral margins It and approximately on atangent with the curvature thereof. This location for the exit apertureI2 is of special importance since it prevents the accumulation andclogging of the spout such as would take place if the aperture werespaced somewhat from the top margins it. Thus, when the aperture isclosed (see Fig. 3), no excess material can accumulate between theperipheral margins I9 and the inner faces of the aperture i2.

Referringmore particularly to Figs. 2 and 5, I have shown the manner inwhich the suction cup bottom margins I I are spaced from the wall benoted, is directly proportional to the pressure existing within the neckof the container and within the tubular skirt portion 4. That is to say,the greater the pressure built up within the recesses I3 and [4, thegreater the tendency to force the bottom margins l I against one anotherto seal the dispensing spout.

In design, I prefer to utilize elliptical suction cups of the type shownin the drawings. These may be disposed either with the major axishorizontal as shown in Fig. 1 or with the major axis vertical as shownin Fig. 6. In either event, the elliptical suction cup is preferable tothe circular suction cup since the former more nearly defines separatelateral and end margins and more readily controls the flow of a fluid orsemifiuid material. For example, if the spout is to be used with a widemouth jar, the construction of Fig. l is preferable since a circularsuction cup construction would make the spout too high. Were a circularsuction cup utilized, the cont-ainer and spout might occupy an excessiveamount of storage space. On the other hand, the problem is just theopposite with respect to a small toothpaste tube. In the latter case,the problem is to provide a spout which is large enough to give a goodfinger grip so the flow may be controlled. Accordingly, I prefer thevertical major axis construction of Fig. 6 for the spout on atoothpaste, shaving cream, or ointment collapsible tube.

In use, my suction .cup dispensing spout will find utility with avariety of containers designed to dispense a. variety of fluid,semi-fluid, and plastic materials. I make special reference to a fluidmaterial (as opposed to a dry or comminuted material such as salt orflour) because of the inherent nature of the suction cups I and 3. Thus,it is well known that suction cups of this type will stick together moreefficiently and for a longer period of time when the surfaces andmargins thereof are dampened with a fluid or semi-fluid material. Thisis for the reason that a suction cup seal is maintained by the force ofthe atmospheric pressure which acts in opposition to the inherentelasticity of the suction cup. If the peripheral margin of the suctioncup is moved, the vacuum is released, the seal is broken, and thesuction cup springs back to its original shape. Accordingly, a fluid orsemi-fluid material helps maintain the vacuumtype suction existing underthe faces of the cups and is in direct service to the objects of myinvention.

As shown in the open position of Fig. 5, the exit aperture I2, and thespaced end margins It and II define a longitudinal dispensing passageextending from the neck of the container 5 through the bore of thetubular skirt portion and between the inner faces of the suction cups Iand B. This is the normal or relaxed position of the elements.Accordingly, were the container of Fig. 5 to be inveited. material wouldbe dispensed' through this longitudinal passage and would issue: fromthe exit aperture; I2.

Returning now to Fig. 2, I have shown two arrows lettered C to indicatethe direction in which a compressive force must be applied to collapsethe suction cups 1 and 8 and to seal the aforementioned longitudinaldispensing passage. This compressive force may be applied with the thumband forefinger of one hand so as to leave the other hand free to hold atoothbrush, shaving brush, bandage, or the like. As the suction cups 1and 8 are pressed into direct abutment (with the entire peripheralmargins thereof also in abutment), the material hitherto located betweenthe faces of the cups is either forced out the exit aperture I 2- orback into the neck of the container 5. When the thumb and forefinger arereleased, atmospheric pressure will maintain the spout in the closedposition of Figs. 2 and 3. Further, it is to be noted, this closedposition hermetically and positively seals the container againstcontamination and deterioration. For example, some types of toothpasteand shaving cream dry up or tend to evaporate when exposed to theatmosphere. With my dispensing spout, this will not happen since no aircan enter the neck of the container 5 so long as the suction cupsmaintain their closed position.

When the spout is to be opened, a compressive force is applied at rightangles to the closure compressive force (see the arrows O in Fig. 1).This force distorts the Wall members 2 and 3 and the suction cups 1 and8 to pop them open so the dispensing spout elements once more may assumethe position of Figs. 4 and 5. Furthermore, if my dispensing spout isutilized in conjunction with a tube of toothpaste, it is preferable toform the exit aperture [2 so that it will bound the portion of thelongitudinal dispensing passage having the least cross section. Thus,the toothpaste will be emitted from my spout in a long ribbon. Such aribbon is susceptible of easier control and the volume emitted can bemore easily gauged. If desired, pressure may be applied to thetoothpaste tube before the passage is opened. If this is done, therecesses l3 and I4 will prevent a premature opening, yet the toothpastewill squirt forth in a long ribbon once the passage is opened.

In accord with the objects of my invention, it will be seen that I haveprovided a suction cup dispensing spout which is operable with thefingers of one hand, yet which hermetically will seal a containeragainst contamination or deterioration. Furthermore, I have provided apair of mated recesses or pressure pockets behind the lower margins ofmy suction cups thereby to increase the compressive closure force acrossthe suction cups in direct proportion to the pressure existing withinthe container neck. This latter structure is of special utility when mydispensing spout is used in conjunction with collapsible tubes or withcontainers filled with a liquid or gas under pressure. In summation, myspout will dispense a controlled and measured quantity of material yetthe novel suction cup seal thereof will protect the contents remainingeven though they exert a natural pressure greater than atmospheric.

I claim:

1. An elongated dispensing spout operable between an open and a closedposition, comprising a pair of mated closure elements arranged inface-to-face relationship and having coinciding peripheral margins, atleast one of said closure elements being an elastic collapsible suctioncup. a skirt pendent from said mated closure elements, the lateralperipheral margins of said. closure. elements being in sealing abutmentand the end peripheral margins normally being spaced to define alongitudinal, end toend, dispensing passage intermediate the closureelements, through said skirt, and concordant with said open position.

2. An elongated. suction cup dispensing spout operable between adispensing position and a sealing position, comprising a pair of elasticsuction cup disks arranged in face-to-face relationship, means pendentfrom said disks for gripping the neck of a container or the like, thelateral peripheral margins of said suction cups coinciding and the endperipheral margins normally being spaced to define a longitudinal, endto end, dispensing passage intermediate the suction cups, through saidskirt, and concordant with said dispensing position, said sealingposition selectively being effected by the compressive collapse of saidsuction cups and by the direct abutment of said end peripheral margins.

3. An elongated suction cup dispensing spout operable between an opendispensing position and a closed sealing position, comprising a pair ofelastic suction cup disks arranged in face-toface relationship andhaving coinciding peripheral margins, an encompassing skirt pendent fromsaid disks, the lateral peripheral margins of said suction cups being inabutment and the end peripheral margins normally being spaced to definea longitudinal, end to end, dispensing passage intermediate the suctioncups, through said skirt, and concordant with said open dispensingposition, said closed sealing position selectively being effected by thecompressive collapse of said suction cups and by the direct abutment ofsaid end peripheral margins, and a pair of mated lateral recess meansbehind the suction cups margins adjacent one end of said skirt foraiding the maintenance of said closed sealing position.

4. A suction cup dispensing spout operable between an open dispensingposition and :a closed sealing position, comprising an elongated elasticenvelope having spaced longitudinal wall members terminating at one endin engaging means for gripping the neck of a container or the like, theopposite end of said envelope having a collapsible aperture formedtherethroug-h, a pair of collapsible concave suction cups carried incontiguous mated relationship by said wall members, the lateralperipheral margins of said suction cups coinciding and the endperipheral margins normally being spaced to bound, together with saidenvelope tubular portion and aperture, a longitudinal dispensing passageconcordant with said open dispensing position, said collapsible aperturelying intermediate the peripheral margins at one end of said suctioncups.

5. A suction cup dispensing spout operable between an open dispensingposition and a closed sealing position, comprising an elongated elasticenvelope having spaced longitudinal wall members, one end of saidenvelope having a collapsible aperture formed therethrough, a pair ofcollapsible concave suction cups carried in contiguous matedrelationship by said wall members and having coinciding peripheralmargins of elliptical outline, the lateral peripheral margins of saidsuction cups coinciding and the end peripheral margins normally beingspaced to bound, together with said envelope tubular portion andaperture, a longitudinal dispensing passage concordant with said opendispensing position, said closed sealing position being effected by thecompressive collapse of said suction cups together with the directabutment of said end peripheral margins, said open dispensing positionselectively being effected by the movement of said suction cup lateralmargins toward one another to break the vacuum-type suction existingthereacross.

6. A suction cup dispensing spout operable between an open dispensingposition and a closed sealing position, comprising an elongated elasticenvelope having spaced longitudinal wall members terminating at one endin engaging means for gripping the neck of a container or the like, theopposite end of said envelope having a collapsible aperture formedtherethrough, a pair of collapsible concave suction cups carried incontiguous mated relationship by said wall members, the lateralperipheral margins of said suction cups being in abutment and the endperipheral margins normally being spaced to bound, together with saidenvelope tubular portion and aperture, a longitudinal dispensing passageconcordant with said'open dispensing position, the peripheral margins ofsaid suction cups at one end of said envelope having mated recess meansextending laterally therebehind to increase the compressive closureforce thereacross directly in proportion to the pressure existing withinthe engaging means portion of said envelope, said open dispensingposition selectively being effected by the movement of said suction cuplateral margins toward one another to break the i vacuum-type suctionexisting thereacross.

'7. A suction cup dispensing spout operable between an open dispensingposition and a closed sealing position, comprising an elongated elasticenvelope having spaced longitudinal wall members terminating at one endin engaging means for gripping the neck of a container or the like, theopposite end of said envelope having a collapsible aperture formedtherethrough, a pair of collapsible concave suction cups carried incontiguous mated relationship by said wall members, the lateralperipheral margins of said suction cups being in sealed abutment and theend peripheral margins normally being spaced to bound, together withsaid envelope tubular portion and aperture, a longitudinal dispensingpassage concordant with said open dispensing position, said collapsibleaperture lying intermediate the peripheral margins at one end of saidsuction cups 8 and bounding the portion of said longitudinal passagehaving the least cross section, the peripheral margins of said suctioncups adjacent said engaging means having mated recess means extendinglaterally therebehind to increase the compressive closure forcethereacross.

8. In an elongated suction cup dispensing spout operable between adispensing position and a sealing position, an elongated flexibleenvelope having spaced longitudinal wall members bounding a dispensingpassageway, a pair of collapsible concave suction cups carried incontiguous mated relationship by said wall members, the lateralperipheral margins and the backs of said suction cups being sealinglyjoined to said wall members, the longitudinal end margins of saidsuction cups being movable and separable laterally away from one anotherto bound an open passageway through said envelope and concordant withsaid dispensing position, said sealing position being effected by thecompressive collapse of said suction cups into direct face to faceabutment.

9. In a valve movable between an open and a closed position, anelongated tube having a hollow bore bounded by a resilient wall memberwhich defines the body of the valve, a mated pair of valve closureelements secured to the opposite sides of said wall member within saidhollow bore in contiguous face to face relationship, at least one ofsaid closure elements being a collapsible concave suction cup, saidclosure elements having the lateral margins thereof arranged in sealedabutment with one another and with said wall member, the longitudinalmargins of said closure elements being movable laterally away from oneanother by a first compressive squeeze applied to the lateral margins ofsaid suction cup thereby to define said open position, said closedposition being concordant with the collapse of said suction cup againstthe other said closure element by a second compressive squeeze appliedat right angles to said first compressive squeeze.

BENJAMIN F. GASSAWAY.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Williams Nov. 24, 1908Number

